Dramatic footage has captured the moment a yellow plane landed on eastbound Interstate 470 in Lee’s Summit, Missouri on Tuesday afternoon.
The pilot of the Beechcraft Twin Bonanza aircraft was forced to make an emergency landing when one of the two engines failed, according to a KCTV5 report.
“He had to make a decision now. For him to land on that section of roadway was his best option to potentially avoid some catastrophic collision elsewhere,” Missouri State Highway Patrol Sergeant Andy Bell said.
Video captured by the occupant of a car driving along the interstate shows the plane gradually approaching the road at an angle with the pilot seemingly looking for a gap in the traffic to make the landing. It appears the plane touched down just in front of some vehicles.
Watch Also: Single Engine Plane Makes Emergency Landing On Canadian Highway
Mary and Gailand Coop both witnessed the emergency landing.
“I looked up and there was a bright yellow plane, really, really close going over. And I go ‘Oh, my gosh. That plane is low,” Mary Coop told KMBC News 9.
At approx. 2pm, a pilot was making his final approach to land at the Lee’s Summit airport when he experienced sudden engine failure in one of two engines. The pilot landed on the nearby roadway of I-470 between Douglas and Colburn. No one was injured. @LSPDPIO @MoDOT_KC pic.twitter.com/AIm2yAaBZu
— MSHP Troop A (@MSHPTrooperA) May 19, 2020
“At first, it looked like he was lining up with the median strip to make a grass landing in the middle and I think he looked over and sees that he’s going about the same speed as the traffic, and the traffic had an opening,” Gailand Coop added.
The pilot clearly picked his landing area well and came to a stop just a few hundred feet away from an overpass. No nearby vehicles were damaged and no injuries reported. One of the plane’s wings suffered a little bit of damage after hitting a highway sign.
https://www.facebook.com/KCTV5/videos/265733094618232/